Viola Davis makes history by winning the ‘triple crown of acting’

By winning the Best Supporting Actress award at last night’s Oscars for her performance in Fences, Viola Davis made history.

The actress added an Academy Award to her Emmy (which she won in 2015 for her performance in TV’s How To Get Away With Murder) and her two Tonys (for King Hedley II in 2001 and Fences in 2010) to complete the so-called “triple crown of acting”.

Davis is the first black woman to achieve this impressive accolade. Though Whoopi Goldberg has also won an Emmy, an Oscar and a Tony (as well as a Grammy – making her an ‘EGOT’ winner), neither her Emmy nor her Tony was won for acting.

La La Land won six awards on the night, but was overshadowed by an embarrassing mix-up which saw it seemingly claim the Best Picture prize, before organisers corrected the mistake and announced Moonlight as the true winner.

Footage of the La La Land and Moonlight teams reacting to the mix-up has been widely shared online ever since.